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http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/cakes/cupcakes/green-tea-cupcakeshttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/cakes/cupcakes/green-tea-cupcakes
I love how green tea has a subtle ability to refresh coupled with a slight hint of savoriness. I adore how vegan cupcakes can be a celebratory canvas for almost any flavor combination, that you get to just pick up and take a bite out of. But how do you infuse green tea into a baked cake product? Easy, right? {loadposition share}

I love how green tea has a subtle ability to refresh coupled with a slight hint of savoriness. I adore how vegan cupcakes can be a celebratory canvas for almost any flavor combination, that you get to just pick up and take a bite out of. But how do you infuse green tea into a baked cake product? Easy, right?

Gray’s Vegan Cupcake Anatomy

When I first started embarking on this a few years ago, I realized that it was obvious (or totes obvs, as I often say to purposely make my friends cringe) to use strong green tea and/or matcha powder as part of the liquid in the recipe. This would then be combined with all-purpose flour. What could possibly go wrong? Wait for it... gray cupcakes, that’s what. Try bringing that to a party and practice saying “oh but they’re green tea cupcakes” because that’s what you’re going to be saying to everyone that contemplates eating one.

I soon learned that I’d have to once again delve into the depths of food science to figure out why this was happening and, more importantly, figure out how to make real green tea cupcakes. This is war. I’m not going to let those little gray cupcakes get the best of me.

All-purpose flour contributes to yellowing

It turns out that there were two things that were contributing to gray cupcakes. The all-purpose flour I was using was the first culprit. Most cake flour is bleached which denatures proteins which allows the gluten in the flour to bind less and enables to flour to absorb more water. Another often overlooked benefit of this bleaching process is that it causes the flour to remain white throughout the baking process. All-purpose flour, which is often unbleached, will turn a golden yellow after it’s baked or heated. I’m unsure exactly why bleached flour appears to resist yellowing. Perhaps the compounds that change color during baking are deactivated during the bleaching process. It could also be that since the proteins are denatured, they’re less affected by heat related browning.

Cake flour enables baked items to remain white

Switching to cake flour made the cupcakes turn out brown. We’re getting somewhere! But I would still have to tell everyone these were green tea cupcakes. But at least brown is more appetizing than gray, right? There are now unbleached cake flours on the market and I haven’t had a chance to test this recipe with them. If you give it a go, please report back and let us know how it worked out in the comments section below.

A popular way to create a cake flour substitute is to take 1 cup of all-purpose flour, subtract 2 Tablespoons from it and add 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch or tapioca flour to it. This won’t work for this recipe because you’re still using all-purpose flour which will turn yellow during baking.

Enzymatic browning effects matcha during baking

But what was making the cupcakes turn brown? As I learned from my Vegan Blueberry Beetnik Muffin recipe, there was enzymatic browning that was occurring during the matcha’s exposure to heat during baking. In the muffin recipe I was having issues with them turning gray during baking until I remembered that alkaline accelerates browning and acid inhibits it. This is why if you add lemon juice to a sliced avocado or apple, you will have less browning as they sit in the open air. The acid deactivates the enzymes that oxidize them.

It’s important to note that acid and alkaline have the same effects on other forms of browning, not just enzymatic browning. To illustrate this, add a couple pinches of baking soda the next time you caramelize onions in a skillet. You’ll save about 20 minutes!

Fine tuning the acid in the cupcakes allowed the color to shine

After some testing I found that increasing the apple cider vinegar to 1 Tablespoon would provide the perfect amount of acid to deactivate the browning of the matcha, resulting in about as much green color I could legally get from green tea. This would also be enough to probably convince people that these were actual Green Tea Cupcakes without needing a full-time announcer to be present.

I then made a few batches to figure out how much matcha to use to create a subtle green tea flavor while enabling the proper green tea colors to come through. Early on I found out that using actual brewed green tea was unnecessary because it made barely any difference with color and contributed unwanted bitter flavors. In contrast, since matcha is just dried green tea leaves ground into a powder, it contributes more color, less bitterness and a wonderfully rich, smooth green tea flavor. The result is what I think you’ll find, are totes obvs green tea cupcakes.

1) Curdle the non-dairy milk

Preheat oven to 375F (191C). In a small mixing bowl whisk together the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar until smooth. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes so the mixture thickens slightly.

2) Sift the matcha with the other dry ingredients

Place a flour sifter in a medium mixing bowl. Add the cake flour, matcha powder, baking powder and baking soda to the sifter and sift it into the bowl. Sifting these ingredients will accomplish two things: First, it will eliminate lumps in the matcha flour. Second, it will incorporate a small amount of air into the mixture which will enable to cupcakes to be as light and fluffy as possible.

3) Whisk together the flavor building ingredients

In another medium mixing bowl whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk in the non-dairy milk apple cider vinegar mixture from step 1 until well incorporated.

4) Whisk the cupcake batter together

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and briefly whisk together until just incorporated and the lumps are eliminated. It’s important to not over whisk here. Doing so will bind too much gluten and cause the cupcakes to become dry and mealy.

5) Bake the vegan cupcakes to perfection

Pour the batter into a cupcake mold lined with cupcake liners so the mixture is ½ the way up to the top of the cupcake liner. Bake for 17 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Store at room temperature in a covered container for up to 3 days. This recipe makes 12 Vegan Green Tea Cupcakes.

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]]>Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:05:53 -0400http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/cake-decorating/frostings/easy-buttercream-frostinghttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/cake-decorating/frostings/easy-buttercream-frosting
This Easy Vegan Buttercream Frosting is just a simple, versatile, delectable frosting that will elevate your cakes and cupcakes to a new level without requiring you to put on your lab coat and don your frosting goggles. You can either use Regular Vegan Butter with a cocoa butter base which is recommended, Regular Vegan Butter with a coconut oil base, or, if you haven’t gotten around to buying a walk-in freezer to store your Vegan Butter in yet, go the easy route and use store bought stick margarine. {loadposition share}

Confectioners sugar provides the sweetening and a blend of apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, salt and almond extract round out the buttery flavor. Making this vegan frosting with Regular Vegan Butter with a cocoa butter base is recommended because it will enable your frosting to remain stable at temperatures in the neighborhood of 93-100F (34 to 38C). This means no more homemade vegan frosting sliding off your cake at summer gatherings. Whew!

1) Prepare your chilled Vegan Butter

Prepare your Vegan Butter if using. Transfer the Vegan Butter or stick margarine to a medium mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes so everything chills. This will allow the Vegan Butter to melt slowly and whip properly.

2) Whip the Vegan Butter

Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and whip on low while working your way up to high until the Vegan Butter is smooth. This should take about 30 seconds.

3) Beat in the confectioners sugar

Add the confectioners sugar and beat on high until the sugar has been moistened by the Vegan Butter, about another 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl down towards the center with a spatula.

4) Beat in the rest of the ingredients

Add the non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, salt, almond extract and beat on high until the frosting is smooth and slightly fluffy, about 4 minutes. Due to coconut oil having a melting temperature of 77F (25C), beating beyond 4 minutes can result in the frosting melting if you’re using a Vegan Butter that contains this oil. If this happens or if you’re working in an especially hot kitchen, don’t hesitate to place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator briefly to give the frosting a chance to firm back up slightly. Keep in mind that your cake will need to be kept below 77F (25C) in order for the frosting to maintain its shape on the cake. If you’d prefer a frosting that stays put in higher temperatures, look to Vegan Butter made with cocoa butter which has a melting temperature of 93-100F (34 to 38C) which is closer to the melting temperature of milkfat found in most traditional frosting recipes.

5) Chill the vegan frosting briefly for optimal texture

After whipping, place the frosting in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to firm it up enough to apply to a cake. Store the frosting in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. Remove it from the refrigerator about 2 hours before using so it can soften accordingly. This recipe makes about 1 ¾ cups of Easy Vegan Buttercream Frosting which is enough to frost one layer of an 8 inch round cake.

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]]>Wed, 31 Jul 2013 01:06:54 -0400http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/regular-vegan-butter-cocoa-butter-basehttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/regular-vegan-butter-cocoa-butter-base
When I originally developed my first Vegan Butter recipe I had no idea it would be helpful to so many bakers. I just wanted something that was truly homemade where I had full control of the production process so I could introduce variations to tailor the vegan butter to the application I was working on. Other advantages were that it didn't need to rely on palm oil, which much of the commercial vegan butter industry utilizes, which is linked to rainforest destruction, as well as placing Sumatra orangutans in perilous danger.

The original Vegan Butter recipe uses refined coconut oil for a base, but what happens if there begins to be environmental issues with that type of oil? What if it's difficult to find coconut oil in your area? What if you recently had a dump truck empty 3500 pounds of deodorized cocoa butter in your driveway and you're wondering what to do with it? I don't know which one of these issues led to this, but soon after posting the first Vegan Butter recipe, people started inquiring how to make it using cocoa butter instead of coconut oil.
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When I originally developed my first Vegan Butter recipe I had no idea it would be helpful to so many bakers. I just wanted something that was truly homemade where I had full control of the production process so I could introduce variations to tailor the vegan butter to the application I was working on. Other advantages were that it didn't need to rely on palm oil, which much of the commercial vegan butter industry utilizes, which is linked to rainforest destruction, as well as placing Sumatra orangutans in perilous danger.

The original Vegan Butter recipe uses refined coconut oil for a base, but what happens if there begins to be environmental issues with that type of oil? What if it's difficult to find coconut oil in your area? What if you recently had a dump truck empty 3500 pounds of deodorized cocoa butter in your driveway and you're wondering what to do with it? I don't know which one of these issues led to this, but soon after posting the first Vegan Butter recipe, people started inquiring how to make it using cocoa butter instead of coconut oil.

So, by popular demand, here is the recipe for Regular Vegan Butter - Cocoa Butter Base. Due to the difficulty of melting cocoa butter, the process of making this variation of Vegan Butter is different which is why I decided to post it on its own recipe page. Just like coconut oil, cocoa butter comes in both regular and deodorized, also known as refined versions, where they run it through an activated charcoal filter to remove its chocolatey flavors. This results in a wonderfully versatile solid fat that's extremely useful for a variety of uses. Looking to take advantage of the chocolate flavor of regular, unrefined cocoa butter? Then check out White Chocolate Vegan Butter.

1) Curdle your soy milk

Place the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, coconut vinegar and salt in a small cup and whisk together with a fork. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so the mixture curdles.

2) Mix your Vegan Butter ingredients

Melt the cocoa butter in a small saucepan over low heat so it's barely melted and as close to room temperature as possible. You can also use a microwave but the melting is considerably faster using the saucepan melting method. Measure it and add it and the canola oil to a food processor. Making smooth vegan butter is dependent on the mixture solidifying as quickly as possible after it's mixed. This is why it's important to make sure your cocoa butter is as close to room temperature as possible before you mix it with the rest of the ingredients.

3) Transfer the Vegan Butter to a mold so it solidifies

Add the soy milk mixture, soy lecithin and xanthan gum to the food processor. Process for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway through the duration. Pour the mixture into a mold and place it in the freezer to solidify. An ice cube mold works well. The vegan butter should be ready to use in about an hour. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer for up to 1 year. This recipe makes 1 cup (215 grams), or the equivalent of 2 sticks Regular Vegan Butter - Cocoa Butter Base.

]]>Thu, 11 Jul 2013 02:01:10 -0400http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/chocolate-vegan-butterhttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/chocolate-vegan-butter
One of the benefits of Vegan Butter is that since you’re building it up from scratch, you can have full control of what you want it to be. It doesn’t have to go down the route of completely replicating traditional butter if you don’t want it to. Why would you want to replicate the texture of butter but not necessarily the flavor? Frostings and short doughs such as tart dough, pie crust and shortbread come to mind. You have much more variability in your end result if you can control flavor through your actual fat in addition to other ingredients. Imagine chocolate croissants where the butter is replaced with a fat that has the texture and flavor characteristics of both chocolate and butter. This is the reason I developed Chocolate Vegan Butter. Oh and you can spread it on toast too. {loadposition share}

One of the benefits of Vegan Butter is that since you’re building it up from scratch, you can have full control of what you want it to be. It doesn’t have to go down the route of completely replicating traditional butter if you don’t want it to. Why would you want to replicate the texture of butter but not necessarily the flavor? Frostings and short doughs such as tart dough, pie crust and shortbread come to mind. You have much more variability in your end result if you can control flavor through your actual fat in addition to other ingredients. Imagine chocolate croissants where the butter is replaced with a fat that has the texture and flavor characteristics of both chocolate and butter. This is the reason I developed Chocolate Vegan Butter. Oh and you can spread it on toast too.

This version of vegan butter took considerably more work to develop than I thought. This is because I needed to dial in the chocolate flavor and butter flavor all while keeping the texture as close to traditional butter as possible.

The amount of chocolate added was important because it needed to be assertive but not too overpowering so the butter flavors could shine through. I also needed to tune in sweetness to enhance the chocolate flavors, but not too much or else the butter flavor would suffer. Finally, since chocolate has solids and cocoa butter doesn’t, the hardness of the vegan butter will change depending on the ratio of these two ingredients. The end result is a vegan butter that walks the line between butter and chocolate and can be used anywhere you’d normally use traditional butter. This results in the vegan butter having an extremely subtle sweetness.

Due to the different melting temperatures of cocoa butter and coconut oil, it's not possible to substitute coconut oil for the cocoa butter in this recipe and have the texture resemble traditional butter. In this case it would be excessively soft so it's not recommended.

1) Curdle the soy milk

Place the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a small cup and whisk together with a fork. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so the mixture curdles.

2) Whisk together the flavor building ingredients

In a medium saucepan, add the cocoa butter, unsweetened dark chocolate, sugar, salt and instant coffee powder. Whisk over medium-low heat until the fats are melted.

3) Whisk in the final ingredients

Whisk in the soy milk mixture from Step 1 followed by the lecithin, xanthan gum and vanilla. Whisk over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

4) Transfer the Vegan Butter to a mold so it solidifies

Pour the mixture into a mold and place it in the freezer to solidify. An ice cube mold works well. The vegan butter should be ready to use in about an hour. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer for up to 1 year. This recipe makes 1 cup (215 grams), or the equivalent of 2 sticks Chocolate Vegan Butter.

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:31:15 -0400http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/tools/fat-and-oil-melt-point-temperatureshttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/tools/fat-and-oil-melt-point-temperatures
{loadposition share}Vegan baking is all about reverse engineering, especially when it comes to things like understanding the melt point temperatures of fats. Often I choose to examine the building blocks of a recipe so I can understand it and attempt create a decent, actually edible vegan version. Of course, you don't have to do that if you just want to play around in the kitchen and have fun. But if you really want to nail it with minimal fuss and know why you nailed it, it helps to know what building blocks you have to work with. Much like a child who knows his lego pieces well enough to the point of where he may already have a pretty good idea of the spaceship he's going to build according to the various size lego pieces he has on hand.

While working on foods such as vegan butters, shortenings, ice creams and cake frostings, I've had to endlessly fumble around the internet looking for the melting temperatures of various fats. I soon realized that assembling this information in one place could be a helpful resource for other adventurous food voyagers!

When referring to the below chart on the melting point of fats, keep in mind that melting temperature is the same as freezing temperature; it's the temperature where the fat transitions from a liquid to a solid. Trippy! Fats that are solid at room temperature are already frozen and fats that are liquid at room temperature area already melted so to speak. Monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fat information is there to show you the health factors of various fats. Generally speaking, healthy fats have a high amount of monounsaturated fats as well as polyunsaturated fats and a low amound of saturated fats.

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Thu, 04 Apr 2013 01:31:26 -0400http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/egg-replacers/flax-seed-egg-replacerhttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/egg-replacers/flax-seed-egg-replacer
Traditional bakers have been able to create a vast variety of foods over the last several hundred years of baking evolution. It’s surprising when you realize that everything from puddings to cakes to cookies vary little in the range of ingredients used. Versatile ingredients such as flour, sugar, fat and eggs make this sort of variation possible. These are the building blocks of pastry. Vegan baking is easy when all you have to worry about is manipulating flour, sugar and fat. So what are we do to do in regards to replacing the almighty egg? There is a legend that the Romans believed in chicken eggs so much, they mixed them into their concrete. To first understand what we need to replicate this building block we need to understand what an egg does in the world of baking.
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Traditional bakers have been able to create a vast variety of foods over the last several hundred years of baking evolution. It’s surprising when you realize that everything from puddings to cakes to cookies vary little in the range of ingredients used. Versatile ingredients such as flour, sugar, fat and eggs make this sort of variation possible. These are the building blocks of pastry. Vegan baking is easy when all you have to worry about is manipulating flour, sugar and fat. So what are we do to do in regards to replacing the almighty egg? There is a legend that the Romans believed in chicken eggs so much, they mixed them into their concrete. To first understand what we need to replicate this building block we need to understand what an egg does in the world of baking.
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Understanding the Egg

Love them or hate them, the chicken egg is an extremely useful food. If they were discovered today, they would trigger a revolution in how food is prepared. Eggs work in the following ways in traditional baking applications:

Structure builder

Eggs contain a particularly useful protein, among other egg proteins, called ovalbumin that is found in the translucent white, or albumen. These and other proteins consist in their natural state on the microscopic level as little rolled up balls. Think of them as tiny balls of yarn. When this protein is exposed to heat, it denatures or distorts it which causes them to unfold into little protein strands. The strands then join together to form a strong protein network that gives foods structure. This structure gets stiffer and stronger and actually pulls together slightly as more heat is applied and water is driven off. I visualize this as how rebar strengthens concrete. This network reinforcement is similar to how glutenin and gliadin come together to form a gluten network that creates structure in wheat-based bread. Ingredients that give foods this property are known as structure builders. This is why it is possible to have cake-like consistency in traditional flourless cakes; the eggs provide most of the structure in the absence of flour and actually work just like it.

Foaming agent

This is somewhat similar to structure building in that the egg proteins are not only good at strengthening, but also trapping air bubbles. Egg proteins and many other types of proteins can be denatured by heat but also by friction such as kneading or whipping. In this case, the egg proteins are denatured by whipping, join together and trap air bubbles. This is why eggs foams work so well in leavening cakes.

Emulsifier

An emulsifier is any molecule that has a water loving, or hygroscopic side and an oil loving, and hence, water repelling or hydrophobic opposite side. Emulsifiers are used in food to mix oil and water. This allows fats to more easily be dispersed in a food and water to be held in the food longer, leading to softer textures that take longer to stale. It is this ability of oil and water to work together that enables smooth ice creams, supple cakes and soft and chewy cookies.

There is no one type of food that can replicate all of these properties like an egg can so when looking into egg substitutions we need to use the ones that work for what we’re specifically trying to accomplish in the food. Flax seeds tend to be one of the most versatile foods for replacing eggs.

Flax Egg Replacer

Flax seeds have an outer hull consisting of five layers. The outermost layer, called the epiderm, contains a mucilaginous material which makes up about 8% of the flax seed by weight. This goopy material, known in the food science world as a mucilage, or gel, can be drawn out of the seed in several ways and used as an egg replacement that is suitable for many vegan baking applications. Flax gel is a hydrocolloid, which is defined as a substance that forms a gel when combined with water. The term comes from hydro, meaning water, and colloid, meaning a substance microscopically dispersed throughout another substance. The hydrocolloid family is huge, with vegan variants including foods such as tapioca starch, corn starch, potato starch, arrowroot starch, agar, carrageenan and even lesser known ones with weirder sounding names such as xanthan gum, guar gum and sodium alginate. It seems almost as if there is a law somewhere that states that many hydrocolloids need to have names that sound like scary alien rulers. Fear not, because most of the time, these wonder ingredients are made up of basic food building blocks known as polysaccharides. Hydrocolloids usually work either build structure, emulsify and soften mouthfeel; many things that eggs already do in traditional baking applications.

Flax gel is made up of mainly polysaccharides which is a type of starch. Polysaccharides, from the words many sugars, consist of continuous strings of monosaccharides, or single sugars; individual sugar molecules such as glucose, fructose, or other sugar molecules. Make a necklace out of a dozen or so Fruit Loops cereal rings. Now open that necklace end-to-end and lay it out in a straight line on a table. What you have now is a model of a polysaccharide where the Fruit Loops rings are the monosaccharide molecules. Polysaccharides are important in foods because they are exceptional at holding onto water molecules. Their long sugar strings also bump and tangle into each other when poured which causes them to increase the viscosity of water-based fluids. To illustrate this, visualize pouring a cup of rice compared to pouring a cup of water. Water pours easily because water molecules are tiny and slide past each other with minimal friction. Rice grains are larger and have more surface friction so they don't pour as fluidly. Polysaccharides are also responsible for the thickness of molasses and why brown sugar retains more water to make for chewier cookies. Molasses also contains smaller sugar molecules that fit into the flavor receptors on our tongue and are perceived as sweet. Polysaccharides are too large to fit into these flavor receptors so their flavor is not significantly sensed on the palette.

Other plants such as chia seeds, aloe vera, okra and even some basil seeds also contain polysaccharide gels. I have experimented with okra and chia and found that chia seeds can be substituted for flax seeds on a roughly one to one basis, although they are considerably more expensive. I found okra gel to lack suitable density to be superior to flax and chia gels.

Plants use polysaccharides as food by breaking them down into their individual sugars and metabolizing them into energy. This is especially important to the flax plant because its seed will use these polysaccharides during the sprouting phase. Since they’re made up of sugars which are water loving or hygroscopic, they are especially good at holding onto water for the plant to use as well.

Fortunately for us, many of the reasons polysaccharides are useful for plants are the same reasons they work great for egg substitutes. Flax gel can work as a mild structure builder, low foaming agent and emulsifier in vegan baking applications. Most other vegan egg replacers such as fruit purées, legume flours and non-dairy yogurts can only do one or two of these things. Flax gel is able to do all three without imparting off flavors, colors or textures when it is done properly. Depending on how flax egg replacers are prepared, they can be a healthy alternative to other egg replacers due to their excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and protein content.

Flax Seed Drawbacks

Like most other egg replacers, flax seeds are never going to perform exactly like eggs. Eggs rely on proteins to do most of their work and flax seeds use polysaccharides so the results will not be exactly the same. Flax seed egg replacer is not a terrific foaming agent. That means it's next to impossible to use it to make extremely airy desserts like angel food cake, choux pastry or popovers. In fact, flax seed egg replacer can even do more harm than good in cakes due to its tendency to hold onto excess moisture. It also is not a structure builder in that it won’t form protein networks that reinforce doughs like an egg will. It will work to stick things together instead.

Finding the right Flax Seeds

When using flax for any food application it’s important to keep in mind two crucial points:

Never buy pre-ground flax seeds. Flax seeds contain oils that are extremely perishable. When the flax seed is ground, the oil is exposed to oxygen and begins to oxidize almost immediately. This oxidization turns the oils rancid which makes them toxic and causes them to impart a linseed oil aroma and flavor to your food. Linseed oil is in fact oxidized flax oil. When you buy pre-ground flax seeds there’s no way to tell how long they’ve been sitting around oxidizing. Always buy flax seeds whole, grind them yourself with a coffee grinder if you’re using them ground and store them in an airtight container in your freezer where they will keep for about a year. If you detect the taste of linseed oil in food prepared with flax seed egg replacers, this means that the flax seeds have gone rancid and should be discarded.

Look for golden flax seeds instead of brown.The brown variety will be more likely to darken your baked goods due their brown hulls.

Using Flax as an Egg Substitute

There are two ways to use flax seed as a vegan egg replacer. One is to use the whole ground flax meal dispersed in a liquid such as water, non-dairy milk or fruit juice and use it after it forms into a gel. The other, more involved way to use flax seed as an egg substitute is to boil whole flax seeds with water which extracts the gel, strain the flax gel off then discard the flax seeds. Each method has its benefits and drawbacks. Both methods are illustrated below.

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Flax Meal Egg Replacer Recipe

In this method, golden flax seeds are ground into a whole flax meal with a coffee grinder. This flax meal is then mixed into a slurry with water and allowed to sit until a gel forms. This slurry, as well as the gel that accompanies it is used to replace the egg. I use the same grinder for my coffee as I do for my flax grinding. To ensure my flax meal doesn’t take on coffee flavors, I first grind a small amount of either corn flour, dried rice or flax seeds and discard it. This first grind will remove all of the coffee flavor so you can grind flax seeds without having them absorb coffee flavors or aromas.

Pros of this method

It’s fast and works great for most egg substitutions where eggs are used, such as in baking applications where moistness and denseness are desired qualities.

If you bake rarely you can pre-grind a large quantity of flax seeds, store them in your freezer and only use what you need when you need it.

Cons of this method

Flax meal has a subtle mealy flavor that's usually not prominent enough to stand out in most baked items as long as you don't add any more than about 3 Tablespoons of flax meal per normal, family-sized recipe.

Flax meal can work as the opposite as a structure builder in cakes because its slippery nature holds onto moisture. The mucilage can actually coat the gluten and gliadin, effectively blocking gluten bonds from forming. So I recommend against using it in cakes. I admit, it took me a while to figure this one out!

This method won’t work when a smooth, creamy texture or a uniform light color is desired; the flax seed particles will make soft ingredients such as frostings and sauces grainy and light colored baked items will have golden flecks.

This recipe makes the equivalent of 1 egg.

3 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon golden flax meal

1) Grind your flax seeds

Grind the golden flax seeds into a meal in a blender or spice grinder. You may want to grind a larger amount and store it for future use. Like flax oil, flax seeds are extremely perishable so if you grind a larger amount for later use, store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one year. 1 cup of golden flax seeds equals about 1 ⅓ cup of flax meal.

2) Whisk water into your flax seed meal

Add the water to a small bowl or cup. Add the flax meal and mix together with a whisk or fork. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes so it develops a gelatinous texture similar to a raw egg. Warm water will speed up this gelling process and make it happen about twice as fast.

Flax Gel Egg Replacer Recipe

This method involves extracting the flax gel from whole flax seeds using hot water then discarding the flax seeds. The gel is used to replace the egg. I must give credit to Miyoko Schinner for possibly inventing this method and popularizing it in her teachings.

Want to use flax gel in an already vegan recipe for extra binding power or to swap out another egg replacer? In this case, substitute the flax gel for the water in the recipe and whisk it in with the water-based ingredients. For instance, if your vegan recipe calls for 1 cup non-dairy milk, use ¾ cups + 1 Tablespoon non-dairy milk (1 cup minus 3 Tablespoons) and 3 Tablespoons (45 mL) flax gel to replace one egg equivalent and whisk them together. It’s ok if there are some other ingredients included when you whisk them together but since flax gel is water based, it will disperse best in water based liquids as you’re progressing through your recipe. Whisking flax gel into the vegetable oil in your recipe will not work because it won't allow the flax gel to disperse into the ingredients so it can do its job.

Pros of this method

Since there are no particles in the flax gel and it is translucent, it performs much more like an actual egg. It won’t impart as much flax flavor, color will not be affected and it won't contribute to a mealy texture. The purity of this flax gel allows you to use more of it where you need extra binding or emulsifying power such as soft and chewy cookies, bars or even ice creams.

Preparing flax gel allows you to make it in large quantities which can be a benefit if you bake often.

Cons of this method

This method is far more involved than the Flax Meal Egg Replacer. If you don’t bake often it may be more trouble than it’s worth.

It can be tricky to measure flax gel due to its high viscosity and elasticity, but a solution is below.

Once you make flax gel, its life is limited to about 1 week in your refrigerator or up to 3 months in your freezer where it will have to be thawed out before each use. You can make this convenient by measuring out small quantities into an ice cube tray, placing it in a plastic freezer bag and freezing it.

3 Tablespoons (45 mL) Flax Gel equals 1 egg.

3 cups water

5 Tablespoons (50 grams) flax seeds

1) Boil the flax seeds in water

In a small saucepan, add the water and flax seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a low boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is gelatinous and stringy, about 20 to 25 minutes. It’s important that the mixture is boiled uncovered here because not only are we coaxing the polysaccharides out of the husk of the flax seed with heat, we’re also boiling off some of the water to get an extra thick consistency.

2) Strain off the flax seed mucilage

It’s extremely important to use a strainer that has holes small enough so that the flax seeds don’t fall through but not too small or the flax gel won't drain off. This is the colander I recommend. A cheesecloth will not work because the flax gel won’t be able to flow through it. Immediately after boiling, place the strainer inside of a bowl and pour the mixture into the strainer. Wiping back and forth along the mesh of the strainer with a spatula can accelerate the straining process. It’s important that you strain the mixture immediately after boiling because as soon as it cools it will thicken to the point of where it's too thick to strain. If this happens, you can always reheat the mixture to a boil then strain it. Discard the flax seeds.

3) Allow the flax mucilage to cool

Transfer the mixture to a small container and allow it to cool in the refrigerator until room temperature, about 1 hour. If using later, store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you’re freezing the mixture you should consider measuring out 3 Tablespoon quantities, placing them in an ice cube tray and placing the tray in a plastic freezer bag before freezing. That way you can easily use one egg of flax gel without the burden of preparing it every time. Makes about 1 cup flax gel.

Measuring Flax Gel

Flax gel is a very powerful egg replacer but it can be difficult to measure out due to its extremely high viscosity and elasticity. It’s almost as if someone’s playing a trick on you when you need to measure it. Using Tablespoons, teaspoons and even transferring it to a container to weigh it is nearly impossible because it seems to want to go everywhere except where you want it to go. By far the best way to work with flax gel is with a $10 food grade syringe. By using a syringe it’s effortless to measure out a 3 Tablespoons, the amount that replaces one egg, when you note that 3 Tablespoons equals about 45 mL. You simply dip the tip into the flax gel mixture, pull the top of the syringe to draw the mixture inside of it to the desired measurement, transfer the syringe to where you’re dispensing it and push the mixture out. After using a food syringe for this purpose, I discovered that it works so well for transferring liquids that I ended up discarding my baster because it worked so much better. If you're into making sauerkraut you're going to love how easy it is to use one of these to draw off excess liquid.

Not into remembering conversions and doing math? Me too. To easily convert Tablespoons and teaspoons to milliliters, check out the Baking Measuring Unit Converter.

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:38:00 -0400http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/cultured-european-style-vegan-butterhttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/cultured-european-style-vegan-butter
The more I learn about pastry, the more I realize that European pastry is on a completely different level compared to classic American pastry. My impression is that European pastry is all about introducing flavor depth through manipulating eggs, butter and technique. Croissants, strudel and danish pastries come to mind. American pastry, on the other hand, tends to build off bold flavors with a strong sugar backbone accentuated by spices. Apple pie, cupcakes and cookies come to mind here.

In the quest to become an adept baker, it’s important to draw from as many influences as possible. One trick that many American style bakers use to improve flavor depth is taking a cue from European bakers by using cultured European style butter.

How does American style butter differ from European style butter? Let’s take a look.

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The more I learn about pastry, the more I realize that European pastry is on a completely different level compared to classic American pastry. My impression is that European pastry is all about introducing flavor depth through manipulating eggs, butter and technique. Croissants, strudel and danish pastries come to mind. American pastry, on the other hand, tends to build off bold flavors with a strong sugar backbone accentuated by spices. Apple pie, cupcakes and cookies come to mind here.

In the quest to become an adept baker, it’s important to draw from as many influences as possible. One trick that many American style bakers use to improve flavor depth is taking a cue from European bakers by using cultured European style butter.

How does American style butter differ from European style butter? Let’s take a look.

American Style Butter

American style butter has about 80 percent fat and is frequently pasteurized. Pasteurization wipes most of the naturally occurring microbes so the butter tastes clean. Most American cows are raised in factory farms and fed a diet of corn and soy so the butter is white and devoid of minerals also which accentuates this clean flavor.

European Style Butter

European style butter is about 82 to 86 percent fat and is developed more slowly which enables the cream to slightly ferment which allows the butter to develop a subtle sour tang. European cows are more likely to be grass fed which contributes carotenoids and minerals to the butter, contributing to a more rich flavor and yellow color. The slightly higher fat to water ratio compared to American style butter means that layered doughs will have a slightly lower tendency for gluten development and the fat will remain solid for a longer period which can be beneficial for layered doughs and short crusts.

The Components of Vegan Cultured European Style Vegan Butter

I set out to create a vegan European style butter so I could have other options when baking things like croissants and danishes. I wanted this vegan butter to be easy to make so other bakers could replicate it so I utilized plain non-dairy soy yogurt to make the water-based component. I then used slightly more fat than I normally do in Regular Vegan Butter to be true to style.

The Sad, Sorry State of Vegan Yogurts

Have you had vegan yogurt lately? If you haven’t tasted dairy yogurt in a while you may believe that it’s close to the quality of dairy yogurt and be content. It turns out that, in my opinion, vegan yogurt is in a very interesting place in the food world. Is it that vegan yogurt manufacturers don’t know any better or is it that most vegans keep buying lackluster yogurts to the point of where the vegan yogurt industry doesn’t feel compelled to change? It’s like the difference between Sunny D and fresh squeezed orange juice. Most vegan yogurts are just glorified starch slurries that have been hurried through any fermentation at all if they’re lucky. This made it tough to recommend a vegan yogurt for this vegan butter. I should mention that I do have a friend that is working to change the state of vegan yogurt in the form of a fermented coconut yogurt which I’m thrilled about.

Cultured butter utilizes slightly fermented cream so I would have to find a yogurt that had as complex of a flavor as possible. This automatically ruled out anything other than a couple soy yogurts. After reviewing vegan yogurts, I found that the yogurts with the most complex flavor available in the United States would be Wildwood Plain Soyogurt and Wholesoy Plain soy yogurt, in that order. I currently don’t recommend anything other than those two soy yogurts in the US. If you make your own vegan yogurt or know of a small producer who uses traditional methods to make a higher quality yogurt, then use that. If you’re thinking of using coconut or almond yogurt made by a major manufacturer, don’t waste your time and just make Regular Vegan Butter. Furthermore, if you’re interested in producing European style vegan butter as authentic as possible, I strongly advise you to not sacrifice that container of peach non-dairy yogurt you have in the back of your refrigerator; the sweetness alone will not make your vegan butter true to style.

Combined with the slightly higher fat content and preferred soy yogurt, the vegan butter still didn’t have enough of the cultured flavor I was after so I included a small amount of apple cider vinegar to amplify it. Vegan yogurts are usually loaded with hydrocolloids so I was able to get away from using xanthan gum, but not lecithin. The lecithin will make your butter more plastic which means it will melt more uniformly without separating. This is especially important in layered pastry.

1) Curdle the yogurt

Add the non-dairy yogurt, apple cider vinegar and salt to the food processor. Process it for about 30 seconds and allow it to sit for a few minutes so the soy yogurt slightly curdles.

2) Mix the Vegan Butter ingredients

Melt the coconut oil in a microwave so it's barely melted and as close to room temperature as possible. Measure it and add it and the canola oil to the food processor. Making smooth vegan butter is dependent on the mixture solidifying as quickly as possible after it's mixed. This is why it's important to make sure your coconut oil is as close to room temperature as possible before you mix it with the rest of the ingredients.

3) Transfer the Vegan Butter to a mold so it solidifies

Add the lecithin and process for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway through the duration. Pour the mixture into a mold and place it in the freezer to solidify. An ice cube mold works well. The vegan butter should be ready to use in about an hour. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer for up to 1 year. This recipe makes 1 cup (215 grams), or the equivalent of 2 sticks Cultured European Style Vegan Butter.

My love affair with chocolate comes from many things: The smell of rich cocoa that fills your nostrils upon opening a box of chocolate; the numerous shapes and sizes and the way the light reflects off their glossy angles; the fillings that lurk within certain chocolates, waiting to be discovered; the snap when you bite into it, sending a shockwave throughout your mouth that signifies that the rush of chocolate flavor has been unleashed to your senses. This telltale snap is like a magician quickly withdrawing a velvet cloak, exposing the magic below.

Fascinated by this experience, long ago I set out to make my own chocolate chocolate bonbons with good quality store bought baking chocolate. I’d melt the chocolate and use it to coat some fillings and everything would be great. I could pack them up for Mom and she would be astounded when she learned that I had done this all myself.

There was only one little problem though.

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My love affair with chocolate comes from many things: The smell of rich cocoa that fills your nostrils upon opening a box of chocolate; the numerous shapes and sizes and the way the light reflects off their glossy angles; the fillings that lurk within certain chocolates, waiting to be discovered; the snap when you bite into it, sending a shockwave throughout your mouth that signifies that the rush of chocolate flavor has been unleashed to your senses. This telltale snap is like a magician quickly withdrawing a velvet cloak, exposing the magic below.

Fascinated by this experience, long ago I set out to make my own chocolate chocolate bonbons with good quality store bought baking chocolate. I’d melt the chocolate and use it to coat some fillings and everything would be great. I could pack them up for Mom and she would be astounded when she learned that I had done this all myself.

There was only one little problem though.

Once I had given a full day for good measure, to give the chocolate a chance to solidify around the fillings, I grabbed a bonbon to survey it. Surprisingly, they weren’t as glossy as the ones I was trying to replicate from the professional chocolatier. They had more of a flat, blemished appearance with a mysterious white powder that I don’t remember dusting them with. Then I took a bite. Astounded would be the proper word to describe what I was feeling, but not in the way I had hoped. There was no snap and the chocolate crumbled and gave way like a landslide, filling my mouth with chocolate dust that turned from a sandy consistency, into a strange gum before finally melting away. The lack of the snap was like the magician was tripping and falling flat on his face before even getting up to the stage to do the trick.

What happened?

It turns out that in the chocolate world, there is a difference between solidifying the right way and solidifying the wrong way.

We Live in a Crystallized World

Most of the solid things you see around you are actually made up of crystalline structures on the molecular level. Metal, ceramics, glass, ice, concrete and solid fats are just some of the materials that started out in liquid forms and have solidified into a crystalline structure, where molecules are able to pack tightly together enough to the point of where they are bonded together into large, dense, continuous masses.

Chocolate Polymorphism

When molten materials such as chocolate begin to cool, crystals called seed crystals form and start to grow throughout the material, until solidification is complete. There are different ways these crystalline structures can form and grow depending on several factors, such as the material that’s solidifying, what other materials are mixed in and the temperature of the material. The ability of a solid material to exist in more than one solid form is known as polymorphism. Poly, meaning many and morph, meaning shapes. Carbon is a perfect example of a material that is affected by polymorphism. Crystallized loosely, it becomes graphite that makes the writing end of a pencil. When the carbon molecules are packed tightly together, the same material becomes a diamond.

Cocoa Butter Crystal Forms

Cocoa butter molecules can be thought of as lego pieces. When you dump them in a pile, you get a loose mass without any structure. If you assemble the pieces together carefully, you get a strong solid mass. There are six known types of cocoa butter polymorphs, or crystal forms as the table below illustrates.

Cocoa Butter Crystallization

Cocoa Butter Crystal Forms

Melting Point

Stable

Comments

Form I

64F (18C)

No

Produced by rapid cooling.

Form II

72F (22C)

No

Produced by rapid cooling of 2C/min.

Form III

79F (26C)

No

Produced at 5-10C. Eventually converts into Form II at that temperature.

Form IV

84F (29C)

No

Produced at 16-21C. Eventually converts into Form III at that temperature.

Form V

94F (34C)

Yes

Produced by slow crystallization after tempering. Produces high quality chocolate with gloss and snap.

Form VI

97F (36C)

Yes

Form V converts into this form after several months at room temperature. Chocoalte bloom happens here.

Melted chocolate, when left to its own devices will crystallize into a jagged mess of loose crystals with a large portion being Form V and smaller proportions of Forms I through IV. This is the chocolate I originally made for Mom that lacked the sheen and snap of professionally made chocolate. Since this chocolate consists of many crystal forms, these crystals can actually shift form over time and increasingly end up as lower forms of jagged crystals such as Form I. This chocolate can also show pure, white cocoa butter the precipitates from the chocolate in tiny dust like particles known as bloom.

The goal of tempering is to promote chocolate to solidify with Form V crystals as much as possible. Every crystal form contains a small amount of all other types of crystals but by encouraging Form V crystals via temperature and time, we can end up with a majority of Form V that will give our chocolate a glossy sheen, a snap when bitten into and a stability where it will last this way on the shelf a while.

Tempering Dark Chocolate

To temper chocolate, we need to first press the reset button on all of the existing crystal forms contained within it so we end up with a clean slate. We do this by heating the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler, also known as a bain marie, to a temperature of 122F (50C) (105F or 40C with white or milk chocolate) so it is completely melted. I recommend a double boiler due to its consistent temperature distribution and ease of use that will prevent your chocolate from being overheated. Overheated chocolate loses its flavor profile and increases in bitterness as it starts to burn.

Now we cool the chocolate to 81F (27C) (4F lower with white or milk chocolate) while whisking it periodically to initiate both stable and unstable crystal forms, especially Forms I, II and III. The chocolate is left here for a couple minutes so the crystal forms can seed or get established. This time is referred to residence time.

The chocolate is now heated to 90F (32C) (4F lower with white or milk chocolate) while whisking it periodically to melt off the unstable crystal forms such as I, II, III and to some extent, IV, leaving mainly Form V crystals. The chocolate is left here for another residence time of a couple minutes to ensure the unstable forms have melted.

The chocolate is now used for its intended purpose and left out to solidify at room temperature to ensure proper Form V crystal growth as it cools. Placing the chocolate in a refrigerator or freezer at this point would encourage the unstable crystal forms to grow.

In summary, tempering accomplishes the following:

1)

Melt out all of the existing fat crystals.

2)

Cool the chocolate so that both unstable and stable crystals form.

3)

Warm the chocolate to melt out the undesirable unstable crystals, leaving the desired crystals intact to seed the chocolate.

4)

Maintain the chocolate at the proper temperature while using so the desired crystals are available to solidify the chocolate when it cools.

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Chocolate Tempering Techniques

So now that we have the main theory down, it’s time to look into the three main ways to temper chocolate. The great thing about chocolate tempering is that if you make a mistake, you can just start over again and press the reset button by going back to the first step and reheating the chocolate again.

I recommend that for all of these techniques you have an instant read thermometer and a double boiler with water heated to around 200F. This will come in handy if you need to quickly bring your chocolate up to a higher temperature; just place the bowl on the double boiler and whisk it for a few seconds before removing the bowl and taking a temperature reading. Is the chocolate slightly too hot? Simply take the bowl off the counter and transfer it to the refrigerator for a few minutes, whisking occasionally.

Friends don’t let friends do chocolate work with chocolate chips. You’re already going the extra mile by working with chocolate in the first place. No matter how well you temper and how exquisite your design, if you use chocolate chips, it’s still going to taste like chocolate chips. Use real baking chocolate.

The Double Boiler Chocolate Tempering Technique

This is my preferred tempering technique because for someone who doesn’t work with chocolate too often, it’s easy to pick up and run through without making major errors. It utilizes a double boiler. I make my own by placing a stainless steel mixing bowl over a saucepan filled with water. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. The benefit is that the chocolate can be easily heated when the bowl is on the double boiler and cooled by taking the bowl off and placing it in the refrigerator.

Fill a 2 ½ to 4 quart saucepan with water and heat to about 200F (93C). Place a 4 quart stainless steel mixing bowl over the saucepan so it sits partially inside. Make sure that the water doesn’t contact the mixing bowl.

3)

Place the chocolate in the mixing bowl and heat it to 122F (50C) (105F or 40C with white or milk chocolate), whisking occasionally so it’s completely melted.

4)

Remove the mixing bowl from the double boiler and transfer it to the refrigerator. Allow it to cool, whisking and measuring occasionally, until the temperature drops to 81F (27C) (4F lower with white or milk chocolate).

5)

Transfer the bowl from the refrigerator to the saucepan and whisk and measure frequently until the chocolate has risen to 90F (32C) (4F lower with white or milk chocolate). Maintain your chocolate at this temperature for a couple minutes while whisking occasionally before using.

The Seeding Chocolate Tempering Technique

This technique is best for people who work with chocolate professionally or frequently. It utilizes chocolate pieces to seed the Form V crystals into the chocolate. Provided you have chocolate pieces that are confirmed to be Form V crystallized pieces, it can go very fast. Many chocolatiers simply take a small batch of confirmed good Form V chocolate from a previous batch and use it to seed future batches, not unlike how bread bakers frequently use bread starters from previous batches. The Seeding Technique also works really well for large batches.

Place the chocolate in the bowl and heat it either in a microwave or a double boiler to 122F (50C) (105F or 40C with white or milk chocolate), whisking occasionally so its completely melted.

3)

Whisk in pieces of tempered chocolate a little at a time until the temperature reaches 90F (32C) (4F lower with white or milk chocolate). It’s not necessary to bring the temperature down and back up again like the other techniques call for; the small pieces are all that’s needed to seed the Form V crystals. Maintain the temperature for a couple minutes while whisking occasionally before using.

The Tabling Chocolate Tempering Technique

This technique requires a marble slab to absorb the heat of the chocolate during cooling and the experience of using a scraper and palette knife to work the chocolate. The benefit is that once you have this method down it can be very fast.

Place the chocolate in a bowl and heat it either in a microwave or a double boiler to 122F (50C) (105F or 40C with white or milk chocolate), whisking occasionally so it’s completely melted.

3)

Transfer about half of the melted chocolate to a marble slab and work it with a scraper and palette knife until it has thickened slightly. Don’t let any of the chocolate solidify completely. The thickening cools the chocolate so that both stable and unstable crystals form.

4)

Transfer the chocolate from the marble slab back to the bowl of chocolate and mix it back in so the unstable crystals are melted out.

5)

Reheat your chocolate to 90F (32C) (4F lower with white or milk chocolate) and maintain it there for a couple minutes while whisking occasionally before using.

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:12:33 -0500http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/breakfast/granola/apple-granolahttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/breakfast/granola/apple-granola
This Vegan Apple Pecan Granola recipe brings on the apple flavor with the help of both apple chunks and apple sauce. Cashew butter forms its base and packs extra protein so you'll have sustained energy throughout your morning. I go low on the sugar for this same reason and to give the other ingredients a chance to contribute flavor. Nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon work to highlight the apple. Chopped pecans toast during baking and add a welcome nutty crunch. Once you've chosen your preferred apples and baked this granola to perfection you can add it to ice cream, splash it on non-dairy milk or top it with a dollop of non-dairy yogurt. {loadposition share}

This Vegan Apple Pecan Granola recipe brings on the apple flavor with the help of both apple chunks and apple sauce. Cashew butter forms its base and packs extra protein so you'll have sustained energy throughout your morning. I go low on the sugar for this same reason and to give the other ingredients a chance to contribute flavor. Nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon work to highlight the apple. Chopped pecans toast during baking and add a welcome nutty crunch. Once you've chosen your preferred apples and baked this granola to perfection you can add it to ice cream, splash it on non-dairy milk or top it with a dollop of non-dairy yogurt.

2) Whisk together the flavor building ingredients

3) Mix together the rest of the ingredients

In another large bowl, add the oats, wheat germ and pecans. Chop the apples and add them to the mixture. Add the wet mixture from Step 2 and stir until well incorporated.

4) Spread the vegan granola on the baking sheet and bake to perfection

Place the mixture evenly on each baking sheet and spread it out flat so it's evenly dispersed. Bake until the granola starts to dry, about 1 hour, rotating the baking sheets halfway throughout the baking duration. Remove from the oven and let cool.

5) Break up the granola and mix in the raisins

Break up the bunches of granola into smaller pieces, transfer them to a large bowl and stir in the raisins. Transfer the granola to an air-tight container and store at room temperature for up to three months. This recipe makes about 8 cups of Vegan Apple Pecan Granola.

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Sun, 10 Feb 2013 22:05:00 -0500http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/vegan-baking-day-is-cominghttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/vegan-baking-day-is-coming
Polish your whisks, restock your vanilla extract, proof your yeast, pre-sift your flour, sharpen your vegan butter knives and mise your place because Vegan Baking Day is almost here! Vegan Baking Day is a day to promote how awesome vegan desserts are and have fun doing it. Vegan desserts are still regarded as sub-par in many circles. Vegan Baking Day is all about changing that! Remember those delectible lemon bars you've been meaning to bring to work? you know, the ones that people say you should sell because they're so good? Bake 'em and share 'em! Vegan Baking Day is the day to share your little piece of heaven with your co-workers, friends, lovers, insurance adjusters, dog walkers, enemies and cohorts.

How it Works

Where are you going to be on October 1st? Wherever you are, bring along your favorite homemade vegan baked eats and place them in a communal area to share with anyone who happens to notice. Happen to be at the DMV? A picnic? A houseparty? Just another dreary day at work? These are perfect places to share your eats with the unsuspecting world. Better yet, team up with a few people, set up a table and give out vegan treats to the public at the location of your choice. Let's spread tasty vegan eats worldwide!

When you share your favorite vegan awesomeness with whoever you happen to be around during the 1st of October you accomplish two things:

1) You promote the fact that vegan baked goods are awesome.

2) You have fun. When was the last time someone hated on you for sharing your homemade treats? Everyone wins!

We Need Your Help

We need your help to help spread the vegan baking love as much as possible! If you happen to know any vegan bakers beside yourself who are interested in promoting veganism through baketevism, please let them know about Vegan Baking Day, follow @veganbakingday on Twitter and and Like the Vegan Baking Day Facebook Fan Page.

So what are you planning on baking for Vegan Baking Day and where do you plan to celebrate it?
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Polish your whisks, restock your vanilla extract, proof your yeast, pre-sift your flour, sharpen your vegan butter knives and mise your place because Vegan Baking Day is almost here! Vegan Baking Day is a day to promote how awesome vegan desserts are and have fun doing it. Vegan desserts are still regarded as sub-par in many circles. Vegan Baking Day is all about changing that! Remember those delectible lemon bars you've been meaning to bring to work? you know, the ones that people say you should sell because they're so good? Bake 'em and share 'em! Vegan Baking Day is the day to share your little piece of heaven with your co-workers, friends, lovers, insurance adjusters, dog walkers, enemies and cohorts.

How it Works

Where are you going to be on October 1st? Wherever you are, bring along your favorite homemade vegan baked eats and place them in a communal area to share with anyone who happens to notice. Happen to be at the DMV? A picnic? A houseparty? Just another dreary day at work? These are perfect places to share your eats with the unsuspecting world. Better yet, team up with a few people, set up a table and give out vegan treats to the public at the location of your choice. Let's spread tasty vegan eats worldwide!

When you share your favorite vegan awesomeness with whoever you happen to be around during the 1st of October you accomplish two things:

1) You promote the fact that vegan baked goods are awesome.

2) You have fun. When was the last time someone hated on you for sharing your homemade treats? Everyone wins!

We Need Your Help

We need your help to help spread the vegan baking love as much as possible! If you happen to know any vegan bakers beside yourself who are interested in promoting veganism through baketevism, please let them know about Vegan Baking Day, follow @veganbakingday on Twitter and and Like the Vegan Baking Day Facebook Fan Page.

So what are you planning on baking for Vegan Baking Day and where do you plan to celebrate it?

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Sat, 09 Feb 2013 22:05:00 -0500http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/tools/grain-and-legume-cooking-charthttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/tools/grain-and-legume-cooking-chart
{loadposition share}I always used to get so impatient when cooking grains or legumes. Instead of really looking into it, I'd just dump about equal parts millet and water into a pot, crank up the heat and come back to it later to deal with it. It never seemed to work out. It turns out that all grains and legumes really want are a little bit of attention. If you take that extra second to give them the water and heat they need, they'll sing to you and come out perfect every time, regardless of how much you're making. The time it takes to refer to the below chart will more than make up for itself compared to guessing and wasting time trying to fix the situation later. So keep it handy! I actually have a printed out copy taped to the inside of one of my cupboard door so I have no excuse.

Cooking grains and legumes simply involves exposing them to a certain amount of water and heat until they have absorbed a specific amount of water. When grains and legumes are exposed to this water and heat, their starch granules and proteins swell as they hydrate and they get softer as a result. If the starch granules absorb too much water, they can rupture and some of the starch will leak outside the grain or legume and start to thicken the water. This starch rupturing is desired in certain starch-thickened sauces utilizing such thickeners as corn starch, potato starch or tapioca starch. It's undesirable in cooked grains and legumes because they are usually preferred whole and intact.

Grains should always be rinsed before cooking. Rinsing removes any dust as well as surface starches that can contribute harsh bitter flavors. This is especially true with quinoa.

It's important to always soak legumes for 8 to 24 hours in water then drain because they contain complex sugars called oligosaccharides. These eight glucose molecule chains are unable to be broken down in the small intestine like most other foods and are instead passed into the colon where they're digested by bacteria which create intestinal gas as a byproduct. Soaking the legumes in water allows enzymes in the beans to break down the oligosaccharides into smaller sugars so they can be digested in the small intestine, resulting in less intestinal gas. Boiling legumes does not break these oligosaccharides down. Soaking will also allow them to cook faster and use less energy from your burner. Feel free to soak legumes and freeze them for later use. Just don't pre-boil them before soaking because this will deactivate the enzymes that break down the oligosaccharides, leaving them intact.

The chart below details how much water and how much time 1 cup of grains or legumes would need to cook completely at simmering temperature (about 200F or 93C) in a saucepan that's covered or semi-covered. Please note that all measurements are approximate. Happy simmering!

Cooking Times for Grains and Beans

1 Cup Grain or Legume

Water Needed

Cooking Time

Cups Yeilded

Adzuki Beans

4 cups (945 mL)

50 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Anasazi Beans

2 ¾ cups (650 mL)

50 minutes

2 ¼ cups (530 mL)

Amaranth

2 cups (475 mL)

30 minutes

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

Barley, whole

3 cups (710 mL)

50 minutes

3 ½ cups (830 mL)

Barley, pearled

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

40 minutes

3 ½ cups (830 mL)

Black Beans

4 cups (945 mL)

1 hour, 15 minutes

2 ¼ cups (530 mL)

Black-eyed Peas

3 cups (710 mL)

1 hour

2 cups (475 mL)

Buckwheat

2 cups (475 mL)

15 minutes

3 ½ cups (830 mL)

Cannellini Beans

3 cups (710 mL)

45 minutes

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

4 cups (945 mL)

1 hour, 15 minutes

2 cups (475 mL)

Fava Beans

3 cups (710 mL)

50 minutes

1 ¾ cups (415 mL)

Kamut

3 cups (710 mL)

40 minutes

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

Kidney Beans

3 cups (710 mL)

1 hour

2 ¼ cups (530 mL)

Lima Beans

4 cups (945 mL)

1 hour

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

Millet

3 cups (710 mL)

30 minutes

3 ½ cups (830 mL)

Mung Beans

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

1 hour

2 cups (475 mL)

Navy Bean

3 cups (710 mL)

50 minutes

2 ¾ cups (650 mL)

Oats, whole

3 cups (710 mL)

1 hour

3 ½ cups (830 mL)

Oats, rolled

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

15 minutes

3 ½ cups (830 mL)

Orzo

2 cups (475 mL)

20 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Peas, green

6 cups (1.4 L)

1 hour, 30 minutes

2 cups (475 mL)

Pinto beans

3 cups (710 mL)

1 hour, 15 minutes

2 ¾ cups (650 mL)

Quinoa

2 cups (475 mL)

20 minutes

2 ¾ cups (650 mL)

Rice: Short Brown

2 cups (475 mL)

55 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Rice: Long Brown

1 ½ cups (355 mL)

45 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Rice: Brown Basmati

1 ½ cups (355 mL)

45 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Rice: Short White

1 ½ cups (355 mL)

15 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Rice: Long White

2 cups (475 mL)

15 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Rice: White Basmati

1 ¾ cups (415 mL)

35 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Rice: Wild

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

50 minutes

4 cups (945 mL)

Rye, whole

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

1 hour

3 cups (710 mL)

Rye, flaked

3 cups (710 mL)

30 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

Spelt

3 cups (710 mL)

25 minutes

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

Teff

4 cups (945 mL)

20 minutes

3 ½ cups (830 mL)

Wheat

3 cups (710 mL)

1 hour

2 ½ cups (590 mL)

Soy beans

4 cups (945 mL)

3 hours, 30 minutes

3 cups (710 mL)

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:44:35 -0500http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/miso-tahini-tarragon-vegan-butterhttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/miso-tahini-tarragon-vegan-butter
Several years ago, one of my favorite restaurants, Millennium, in San Francisco had a particular bread spread they would serve with fresh bread, just as you were seated. This particular spread wasn't buttery, but it had a particular creamy buttery oomph that actually made it taste better than butter when it was slathered on your crusty slice. And since it obviously wasn't butter, you could spread on even more without getting funny looks from your Mom across the table. You could run out of it and confidently ask for more, again and again! Then one day they switched over to a fava bean-based spread that was sadly sub par and the bread spread I loved oh so much mysteriously disappeared from existence. This savory bread spread made a lasting impression on me and I knew that one day I would rise to the challenge and create my own rich version. {loadposition share}

Several years ago, one of my favorite restaurants, Millennium, in San Francisco had a particular bread spread they would serve with fresh bread, just as you were seated. This particular spread wasn't buttery, but it had a particular creamy buttery oomph that actually made it taste better than butter when it was slathered on your crusty slice. And since it obviously wasn't butter, you could spread on even more without getting funny looks from your Mom across the table. You could run out of it and confidently ask for more, again and again! Then one day they switched over to a fava bean-based spread that was sadly sub par and the bread spread I loved oh so much mysteriously disappeared from existence. This savory bread spread made a lasting impression on me and I knew that one day I would rise to the challenge and create my own rich version.

The nuances of packing richness and savoriness into Vegan Butter

Although Miso Tahini Tarragon Vegan Butter is different from the creamy Millennium bread spread of yore, like the restaurant's version, I feel it fills the niche that so many vegan butters and spreads lack; the ability to provide a rich, savory kick that butter can't even do. This is because the tahini adds sharpness, the miso adds savory complexity and the tarragon ties it all together with an irresistible herbaceousness. And since it's Vegan Butter, it can be used in baking savory items like pie crusts for vegan pot pies, pizza crusts or even biscuits while keeping dough textures intact.

Vegan Butter is designed to mimic real butter in vegan baking applications. Like real butter, Vegan Butter is more solid than tub margarine and not as spreadable. This is so it can perform optimally in vegan baking applications. If your goal is to have a conveniently softer, spreadable Vegan Butter, swap out 1 Tablespoon of the coconut oil with 1 additional Tablespoon vegetable oil.

It's important to use shiro miso in Miso Tahini Tarragon Vegan Butter. Golden hued shiro miso has a delicate savory flavor compared to the funk of the other misos, mainly due to it not being fermented as long.

1) Melt the coconut oil

Melt the coconut oil in a microwave so it's barely melted and as close to room temperature as possible.

2) Mix your Vegan Butter ingredients

Place the coconut oil, tahini, miso, tarragon, canola oil, lecithin and xanthan gum in a food processor. Process for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway through the duration. If you have a VitaMix, blend on the lowest setting for 1 minute.

3) Transfer the Vegan Butter to a mold so it solidifies

Pour the mixture into a mold and place it in the freezer to solidify. An ice cube mold works well. The vegan butter should be ready to use in about an hour. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer for up to 1 year. This recipe makes 1 cup (215 grams) of Miso Tahini Tarragon Vegan Butter, or the equivalent of 2 sticks vegan butter.

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{loadposition article-end} ]]>Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:45:53 -0500http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/confections/truffles/raw-coconut-almond-truffleshttp://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/confections/truffles/raw-coconut-almond-truffles
This super easy Vegan Coconut Almond Truffle recipe will satisfy that late night chocolate craving without the excess sugar and empty calories of other desserts. This perfect blend of coconut, chocolate and almond will keep you coming back for more. {loadposition share}

This super easy Vegan Coconut Almond Truffle recipe will satisfy that late night chocolate craving without the excess sugar and empty calories of other desserts. This perfect blend of coconut, chocolate and almond will keep you coming back for more.

1) Process the dates, walnuts and almonds

In a food processor blend together the dates, walnuts and almonds until they form a crumbly paste. If it's too thick, add a little water, but only enough for it to just come together. Depending on personal taste, the truffle mixture doesn't need to be totally smooth; some nutty pieces and tate chunks can be a cood thing. Add the cocoa powder and blend until mostly incorporated.

2) Build the truffle mixture

Remove the nut mixture from your food processor and place it in a large bowl. Stir in the shredded coconut, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract and mix until smooth.

3) Roll the vegan truffle mixture into balls

If the truffle mixture is too sticky at this point, place it in the freezer for about 30 minutes so it firms up slightly. Measure the truffle mixture out as about 1 heaping tablespoon each. Roll it into balls by rolling the mixture between your palms.

4) Coat the truffles

Roll the truffles in your desired topping such as coconut, cocoa powder or nuts.

While these could be eaten right away, the truffles are best when cold. For best results place the truffles in the freezer and allow to them harden at least 1 hour. Store the remaining truffles in the freezer and allow them to soften at room temperature about 10 minutes before serving.
This recipe makes about 15 Vegan Coconut Almond Truffles.

I have to admit, I used to have a sort of prejudice against raw desserts disbelieving in their potential goodness. Oh was I wrong. This is one of my favorite desserts I have ever made. Ever. This Raw Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake is so rich and creamy your friends won't believe that it's vegan.

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I have to admit, I used to have a sort of prejudice against raw desserts disbelieving in their potential goodness. Oh was I wrong. This is one of my favorite desserts I have ever made. Ever. This Raw Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake is so rich and creamy your friends won't believe that it's vegan.

The best pan to use for this recipe would be a Flexi-pan or other type of silicone mold. Otherwise a spring form pan works great. If you're very brave and don't have a Flexi-pan but want individual cheesecakes, use a muffin pan, lightly oiled. It will take a little tlc to get the cheesecakes out, but you can do it! This recipe would fill a 9 inch spring form pan or about 12 individual molds.

For the chocolate sauce

1)
Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until it starts to come together. Press the crust into the bottom of desired pan, about ¼ inch thick. Set aside while you making the filling.

2)
In a food processor or mixer blend together cashews, maple syrup, water and salt. Mix until totally smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary. Add cocoa powder, hazelnut butter and coconut oil to the cashew mixture and blend them all together, scraping down again, until mixture is uniformly combined.

3)
Spoon or pipe the filling on top of the crusts. Stick the cheesecake in the freezer until solid all the way through (at least 2 hours for individual cheesecakes, 4 for a large cheesecake).

4)
Once frozen, remove the cheesecake from the pan. If using a silicone mold they will easily pop out. If you have a muffin tin, run a sharp, hot knife around the edges of each cheesecake, flip the tin upside down and give it a few good whacks against the counter. They should start to slowly side out at this point. Be patient, gravity is on your side. If a few minutes have passed and the cheesecakes are still refusing to drop, use a lighter to heat the bottom of the tin briefly; the heat will help release the cake.

5)

Place the cheesecakes in the refrigerator and make the chocolate sauce.
This recipe makes the equivalent of a 9 inch round of Raw Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

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]]>Sat, 09 Jun 2012 02:53:43 -0400http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/cakes/sponge-cakes/chocolate-cake-2http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/cakes/sponge-cakes/chocolate-cake-2
Ok so I found this Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe and it was a HUGE hit with my family and friends. It was quite easy to make as well! I've never really been a cake person, in fact I detest the stuff for the most part; but this cake made even me nod in approval. The blend of coffee that I put in the recipe adds to the chocolaty goodness and taste. It's very moist as well. There is a glaze that goes with the cake, but I personally never use it. I think the cake is just fine alone. However, I will add the directions for the glaze in case you guys want to try it.... Enjoy! {loadposition share}

Ok so I found this Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe and it was a HUGE hit with my family and friends. It was quite easy to make as well! I've never really been a cake person, in fact I detest the stuff for the most part; but this cake made even me nod in approval. The blend of coffee that I put in the recipe adds to the chocolaty goodness and taste. It's very moist as well. There is a glaze that goes with the cake, but I personally never use it. I think the cake is just fine alone. However, I will add the directions for the glaze in case you guys want to try it.... Enjoy!

For the glaze

1) Prepare the Cake

Preheat oven to 350F (177C). In an 8 x 8 inch square pan, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt with a fork. Add the water or coffee, vanilla extract, vegetable oil and vinegar. Mix the ingredients together. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

2) Prepare the Glaze

In a small saucepan bring the sugar, margarine, soy milk and cocoa powder to a boil, stirring frequently. Simmer for 2 minutes, remove from heat and stir an additional 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract.